Our Story

Bennett Management Corp. Welcomes You

We are a family-owned and -operated Burger King® franchisee with 25 restaurants in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. We’re also an amazing and inventive company with a lot to offer our people and communities.

You should get to know us. What are you doing for lunch? Check Locations for a Burger King near you. We’ll be waiting.

Bennett Management Corp. Celebrates 50 Years in Business

Fifty years ago, founder of Bennett Management Corp. (BMC), Bob Bennett, saw enormous potential in a relatively new company called Burger King™. Bob was very intrigued by this new concept in food service and by the outstanding quality of the food that was at the heart of the Burger King menu. Bennett Management Corp. was started in 1965 when Bob moved from Coral Gables, Florida to Toledo, Ohio to begin building the business. The company grew from the first restaurant which opened in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1966 to the current 25 Burger King restaurants operating in the tri-state area of Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. The family-owned business has been a Franchisee of Burger King Corporation for over 50 years and currently employs 1000 people. The business is headquartered in Arrowhead Park, Maumee, Ohio.

Mr. Bennett’s philanthropic endeavors began in 1965 and grew as the business grew. While supporting numerous charities, his commitment to education was evident in the classroom and on the playing field. BMC continues to support nearly 700 schools and libraries and sponsors many team sports and local sporting events in the cities where the restaurants are located. Mr. Bennett’s picture hangs in the Toledo Seagate Center in honor of his support of the Toledo Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame. The Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Easter Seals, Lucas County Children Services, Historic St. Patrick’s Food Pantry and the military are just a few of the many national and community organizations supported by Bennett Management Corp.

In 1978, the first annual Irish Open Golf Tournament was born. Mr. Bennett started the Tournament as a way to provide scholarship monies to deserving students at Central Catholic High School. As a continuing sponsor of the annual golf tournament, BMC has helped to provide millions of dollars in tuition assistance over the years.

Mr. Bennett was very proud of the many Team Members who made successful careers at Bennett Management. His goal was to provide as much business knowledge and experience as he could to help his employees realize their goals and dreams. He was supportive and encouraging of those who took the business foundations they acquired while working at BMC on to new endeavors. The company continues to ensure our Team Members have the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.

Mr. Bennett passed away in May of 2013 but the strong ethics, values and principals upon which he founded the company remain an integral part of the corporate culture. The set of values that he instilled upon the employees, past and present, are still at the heart of the company today.

From hourly team members to managers and office staff, the people of BMC continue to embody the “People Pleasing People” commitment through Connecting, Appreciating and Respecting Everyone. We are dedicated to fulfill the company’s mission of being the “best in the service business.”

Our Mission

We’re the sharpest in the service business because …Pleasing you pleases us.

Our Motto

People Pleasing People℠

Our Story

Robert G. Bennett(1937 – 2013)

We’ve been part of the Burger King family since 1965, when Robert G. Bennett founded the company. His passion for pleasing customers and supporting education and community became the driving force for the company and our restaurants. It still is.

Robert Bennett was a brilliant marketer and restaurateur. He opened his first Burger King restaurant (#261) January 19, 1966, launching a lifelong career of developing big ideas by paying attention to details.

Through his foresight, Bennett Management is acknowledged for many significant “firsts,” listed below. In fact, Mr. Bennett played a major role in bringing drive-thru service and other icons in American popular culture to the region and the industry. The success of those ideas changed the way America dines away from home.

Have It Your Way®

Soon after opening his first Burger King restaurant, Mr. Bennett was asked to join the first franchisee marketing council. The council was looking for a breakthrough marketing idea.

We believed the key was in preparation. Our major competitor produced multiple sandwiches at a time, every sandwich the same. But we were producing one sandwich at a time – the traditional restaurant method – so customers could order exactly what they wanted.

Most franchisees and the company saw these “special orders” as inviting disaster, believing service would suffer. We believed special orders would fit smoothly into the flow of service. More important, welcoming “special orders” could attract customers from the other guys and set us apart as the preferred choice.

After years of effort, the “Have It Your Way” campaign was finally approved. Before long, it was drawing many new customers … and giving the competition a whopper of a headache.

Our Firsts

The Drive-Thru Concept

When a competitor opened a drive-thru restaurant in Toledo, Bennett Management sent a long memo to Burger King corporate executives detailing the benefits it offered every Burger King restaurant. Many discussions later, the corporate offices remained unconvinced. Mr. Bennett proved himself right, becoming the first franchisee in the country with drive-thru service. For a one-time cost of $1,200 per location, sales in our restaurants increased 40%. Today, Burger King restaurants across the U.S. offer drive-thru service.

We were first to install “breakout” doors to expedite drive-thru service. And we were first to add a stand-alone drive-thru pay booth outside the main building, achieving a 15-second service time for cars at the end of the drive-thru line.

The “Late-Night” Concept

In 1979, we were the first Burger King franchisee in the Midwest to open our restaurants when local customers needed us to be open. The idea caught on. It grew into “late-night” foodservice in the Midwest, then nationally, and prompted our “late-night drive-thru” campaign in 1980.

Fun Premiums for Children

Children’s meals didn’t always come with a special surprise. Our restaurants were the first in the U.S. to offer children a premium with purchase, beginning with the “moon creatures” we distributed in July 1969 to coincide with the successful Apollo lunar landing.

Premiums for Grownups

We introduced premiums for regular customers with the promotion of the 12-ounce Coke glass. The glasses were a huge hit, and the promotion was subsequently offered nationwide by the corporation.

Customer Satisfaction Reporting

Bennett Management was one of two BK franchisees leading the charge for customer satisfaction reporting in 1977. Our system assigned percentage points to specific aspects of restaurant inspections – another first. In time, it evolved to become a very effective system for scoring and tracking the performance of individual stores and managers.

Marquee Boxes

The first to put lighted marquee boxes under restaurant pole signs? Bennett Management.

Coupon Books with Heart

Back in the late 70s, we were the first among Burger Kings in the U.S. to put coupon books to work for community-wide charitable organizations and educational facilities. That was just the beginning. This is one of many community involvement programs adopted by franchisees around the country.

Our Achievements

No. 1 in Operations

Over the years, we have consistently ranked among the top 10% of Burger King operating restaurants in the U.S.

No. 1 in Franchisee Development

We are proud to invest in the education of our employees. Many Toledoans began their work experience with Bennett Management Corp. as teenagers, and have gone on to successful careers in a variety of fields. They were mentored and encouraged by Bob Bennett through the training programs he developed for all levels within the company.

Bob Bennett’s goal was to train team members for careers, whether within the Bennett Management family or outside the restaurant industry. He supported those who went on to become Burger King franchisees and encouraged them to be active and successful members of the Burger King franchise family. Many current Burger King franchisees began their working years right here with Bennett Management, and we are proud to be a part of their success stories.